What's in a name?
by Mika Uriah
Summary: a "missing scene" Kali (episode 1) between Ravi, Will and Kate after Kate corrects Ravi that she was "just Kate" - I am just as Indian as you," She repeated but who was she trying to convince here?


Disclaimer: I own nothing.

A/N: I am not Indian. Nor am I Sikh. I am a white girl living in Toronto, I was doing sanctuary bingo and had a Kali prompt and while re-watching the episode the line about Ravi briefly asking Kate her name stuck with me and this came out of it. Any information I got off the internet (96.3 per cent of that being so….?) and I am not sure how accurate it is and I apologize if any of it is wrong and I do not mean to offend.

000

Doctor Ravi Ganapathiraman of the Mumbai Sanctuary was fascinated with the beautiful woman sitting across from him at the dinner table; she was Kate Freelander, the woman that Helen Magnus sent with Will Zimmerman. A beautiful creature who although was fluent in the cultures of his people and what seemed like the language (at least one of the principal languages, as India had quite a few spoken by millions of people) and yet it always seemed like she was trying to hide who she was, especially from her American friends.

"Kate-"

He started and she stopped him "what? Trying to figure out the polite way to ask about if I am a "Token Indian girl" or just another ABCD sitting at the table?"

"ABCD?" Will asked as he sipped some milk as his mouth burned from the too hot food he was eating.

"Sorry Will it means 'American Born Confused Desi'- it's a slang term used to describe South Asian Americans born in the U.S.A. This is where you're wrong because I'm not American Born. Do my leather coat and my lack of accent confuse you? By the way I am pretty sure Magnus would have your head if she heard you even thinking about talking to someone in this way." She took a breath she was getting angry and she didn't mean to be, she was just frustrated. "I was raised in Chicago, but I am just as 'Indian' as you are. Whatever that means. I was born here. My mother lives here in Mumbai she moved back after we lost my dad, Ravi. I am just as Indian as you," She repeated but who was she trying to convince here? "You want to know about my name? I don't know what to tell you. I was raised Sikh they did Nam Karan it started with K and they liked Kate. I don't know why I don't have a "Sikh name," I was never given one okay? What do you want me to say?"

"Nam Karan?" Will asked from his table, he was feeling really bad over here, but he was so lost.

"Sorry Will, Nam Karan it's…a ceremony, as soon as my mother had me and she could travel the family visited the Gurdwara – it means 'gateway to the guru' it's like...church?" she was never good at these lecture type things "They recited joyful hymns from the Guru Granth Sahib – religious text- to celebrate the birth of me and my family prepared Karah Prashad, it's a sacred pudding. My mother and I was fed Amrit which is a sweet water and then they took the Hukam" Will opened her mouth and she silenced him with the explanation "Hukam means…command...order...I…" she could explain it but would he really get it? Would he care? But she tried "it's from Arabic it means "order or command" like I said, but in this case it refers to a random verse read from the sacred scripture of Guru Granth. Gobind Singh, the tenth Guru…" she faded was history important? She picked up again "A hukam is read, in order to obtain the Guru's divine order, at the close of every Sikhworship service, or ceremony. During Nam Karna The Granthti randomly opens the Sri Guru Granth Sahib to any page and reads the hymn on that page. The first letter of the first word of the hymn is chosen. And my name was chosen beginning with that letter and it was announced to the congregation. This is how it's done here, well in my religion and the way I was raised, does this surprise you, Ravi? Or does it surprise you more that I can explain I so well? I can say it in three other languages if it bothers you in English. Or would you rather me just be the subservient little Indian Girl and not speak at all?" she took a breath, did her voice crack? Was she actually getting emotional? She took a breath and sighed, she turned back to Will "I know why we're all supposed to be here, but if you'll excuse me Will and Doctor Ganapathiraman, I am not feeling very social this evening." She took her plate and went to her room, before Will could ask any more questions and before Ravi had the chance to respond.

Ravi coughed when she was out of the room "well...I was just going to ask her to pass me the naan," he sat there kind of dumbly with a half dopey smile on his face, this Kate Freelander girl was quite interesting indeed.


End file.
